Microsoft Word Seminars on stylistics

and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it
” 
bears the imprint of biblical language. The use of the word “
unhallowed
”, the 
construction with “
shall not
”, the word “
disturb
” in the sense of “
worry”, 
“violate
”, shows how non-colloquial the utterance is. On the other hand, it is 
connected with the purely colloquial element mentioned above, “
the Country’s 
done for
.” The colloquial touch apparent in the sentence “
I might have been 
inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the 
trade
” is placed alongside the lofty statement “
But the wisdom of our ancestors is 
in the simile
”. This sentence contains another stylistic device, the epigram, a short 
witty saying resembling a proverb. It always shows an ingenuous turn of mind, a 
quality which distinguishes it from ordinary statement. Therefore it inevitably 
becomes elevated. Like proverbs and sayings, the epigram is generally 
rhythmically organized, very frequently alliterated and rhymed. This epigram is 
also built on a phonetic principle – it abounds in sibilants which make it be 
pronounced almost in whisper as if in awe. 
In passing, it is worth calling the attention of the reader to the following, from 
our point of view, very significant semantic factor. The stylistic devices, at least 
many of them, do more than add to the direct informational value of the sentence, 
and therefore suggest a definite intonation of the utterance. In the sentence-
epigram we have just spoken of the sibilant foundation of the utterance forcibly 
prompts a definite intonational pattern, that of the whisper. The latter, as is known, 
is mostly used either with the intention of not being heard by those whom the 
speaker does not address himself or to express awe or respect when speaking or a 
person of some rank. In its turn the intonational pattern of whisper suggested by 
the phonetic arrangement of the epigram makes the utterance mixing up the 
stylistic aspects of words. 

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104
The author’s dialogue in this paragraph is suggested not only by the above 
mentioned typical colloquial features of the utterance. It also reveals itself in the 
use of the personal pronouns “
I
” and “
you
”, the pronouns generally common in a 
dialogue. 
Coming back to the purpose of the writer in this paragraph we must point to 
the statement made in the last sentence. It points out the aim of this piece of 
communication. Dickens himself states his intention: 
“…to repeat emphatically…”
Consequently, the purpose of the first paragraph is not even concealed by the 
writer. It is stated in plain words by the author himself. This can be done only in 
the hope of making the reader believe that there will be no tricks in the story and 
thus make him believe that all the facts described in the story are true to life. 
3 
My dad had a small insurance agency in Newport. He had moved 
there because his sister had married old Newport money and was a big 
wheel in the Preservation Society. At fifteen I'm an orphan and Vic 
moves in. "From now on you'll do as I tell you," he says. It impressed 
me. Vic had never really shown any muscle before. (N. T.) 
The first person singular pronouns indicate that we deal either with the 
entrusted narrative or with the personage's uttered monologue. 
The communicative situation is highly informal. The vocabulary includes 
not only standard colloquial words and expressions such as "
dad
", "
to show 
muscle
" (which is based on metonymy), the intensifying "
really
'', but also the 
substandard metaphor - "
a big wheel
". The latter also indicates the lack of respect 
of the speaker towards his aunt, which is further sustained by his metonymical 
qualification of her husband ("
old Newport money
"). 
The syntax, too, participates in conveying the atmosphere of colloquial 
informality - sentences are predominantly short. Structures are either simple or, 
even when consisting of two clauses; offer the least complicated cases of 
subordination. 
The change of tenses registers changes in the chronology of narrated events. 
Especially conspicuous is the introduction of Present Indefinite (Simple) Tense, 
which creates the effect of immediacy and nearness of some particular moment, 
which, in its turn, signifies the importance of this event, thus foregrounding it, 
bringing it into the limelight - and making it the logical and emotional centre of the 
discourse. 
4 
He had heard everything the Boy said however - was waiting for the 
right moment to wrap up his silence, roll it into a weapon and hit 
Mattie over the head with it. He did so now. (W. G1.) 
In this short extract from W. Golding's 
Darkness Visible 
the appearance of a 
person who was an unnoticed witness to a conversation is described. The 

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105
unexpectedness of his emergence is identified with the blow in the sustained 
metaphor which consists of three individual verb metaphors showing stages of an 
aggressive action. 
The abrupt change of sentence length and structure contributes to the 
expressiveness of the passage. 
5 
And out of the quiet it came to Abramovici that the battle was 
over, it had left him alive; it had been a battle - a battle! You know 
where people go out and push little buttons and pull little triggers and 
figure out targets and aim with the intention to kill, to tear your guts, 
to blow out 
у
 
our brains, to put great ragged holes in the body you've 
been taking care of and feeding and washing all your life, holes out of 
which your blood comes pouring, more blood than you ever could 
wash off, hold back, stop with all the bandages in the world! (St. H.) 
Here we deal with the change of the type of narration: from the author's 
narrative, starting the paragraph, to represented inner speech of the character. The 
transition tells on the vocabulary which becomes more colloquial (cf. ''
guts
") and 
more emotional (cf. the hyperbole "
all the bandages in the world
"); on the syntax 
brimming with parallelisms; on the punctuation passing on to the emphatic points 
of exclamation and dashes; on the morphology. "
Naive
" periphrases are used to 
describe the act of firing and its deadly effect Third person pronouns give way to 
the second person ("
you", "your
") embracing both communicants - the personage 
(author) and the reader, establishing close links between them, involving the reader 
into the feelings and sentiments of the character. 
Very important is repetition. Besides syntactical repetition (parallelism) 
mentioned above, pay attention to the repetition of "battle", because it is this word 
which on one hand, actually marks the shift from one type of narration to another 
(the first "
battle
" bringing in the author's voice, the last two - that of Abramovici). 
On the other hand, the repetition creates continuity and cohesion and allows the 
two voices merge, making the transition smooth and almost imperceptible.